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"You're a coward, Jacob! A whole coward!" Some people have actually turned their attention towards them and Jacob was resisting the urge to haul Kevin, who was still insulting him, over his shoulder and dump him into the nearest trash bin. "It's just a ferris wheel, Jake! C'mon!" "Kevin, do you not see the warning? It's fast. I don't like fast." Jacob argued, pulling his hoodie over his head, feeling really cold. The University Fair was always held in the coldest month of the year, and even if he and Kevin were bundled up, the cold still seeped in and made them shiver. "You can go alone, I'll go get a henna and buy a t-shirt... or something." "Fine!" Kevin sulked, stomping away from his bestfriend. He stopped mid-way, feeling guilty for pushing Jacob knowing very well the elder was afraid of heights. Kevin turned around to say sorry, but Jacob was already walking towards the henna booth. He promised to himself he would apologize later. "Sir, you need a partner to ride the wheel." the guy at the ticketing said. Kevin's jaw dropped, shocked at the absurd rule. "Not necessarily a lover. Just someone. The balance gets off-set if there's an odd number of--" "Don't talk Physics to me, please." Kevin sighed. He dejectedly sulked away, leaning on the railing boundary of the ferris wheel as he wondered how bad he was in his past life to not have the privilege of riding the contraption in this life. "Hey, Moon." "I'm not in the mood to fight you, Lee." Hyunjae nevertheless went closer, also leaning against the railing. Kevin couldn't actually remember what the cause of their hostility against each other was, but it had been there since freshman year and it wasn't showing signs of fading. They throw eggs at each other during war zones and Kevin once spray painted Hyunjae's beloved motorbike with an ugly bright orange, which resulted in Kevin receiving a package containing what he thought was his missing sketchbook... wet with mud. "Just watching the wheel, huh? What, too scared to ride it or just alone?" "Ha, you fucking wish." Kevin hissed. "Oh yeah?" Hyunjae looked really smug and Kevin was itching to punch him or something. See, Kevin isn't really a physical nor violent person, but with Hyunjae, he was always bubbling with an urge to shove him into the nearest alleyway or anything. Concerning? Very. "I bet you're just scared." Hyunjae sneered. The very close proximity with which their faces have should have bothered both of them, but it was a too heated moment to give a damn about. Kevin found himself suddenly grabbing Hyunjae by the collar and dragging him to the ticket booth. Then they were sitting together, getting locked in an open carriage, side by side. Hyunjae was surprisingly silent when the wheel moved slowly to let the previous passengers go and take new ones in before going hard. "How did we end up here?" Kevin found himself asking, rocking the carriage they were in. It began to move in a careless back and forth swing, squeaking and making Kevin laugh. "I can see Jacob-- wow, he is buying a shirt. Do you think he can hear and see me if I yell?" Then he sees it: Hyunjae's knuckles as white as his shirt, gripping the locking bar in front of them tightly. "Hyunjae?" Kevin stopped swinging, hesitantly poking the other's arm. It was cold and tense and maybe Kevin was getting more worried than gleeful that the grand, great Lee Hyunjae was scared. "Is it the heights?" Kevin asked softly. He didn't know where the softness or concern came from. Kevin looked down, confirming that they were still a long ways to go from being spun around really fast, and gently pried Hyunjae's cold, numb fingers from the bar. He held one of Hyunjae's hands, warming it up. The ride then began to move much faster than previously but not at full force yet, and Hyunjae gripped his hand tight and shut his eyes, earning a surprised squeak from Kevin. "Dude." Kevin breathed out when the wheel stopped. They were at the very top. From the peak, Kevin could see the full extent of the university fair. The huge, open football fields were full of lights and tents and stars were mixing with the flying, glow toys the students were throwing into the air. The lanterns hung on the trees, the huge stage with disco lights and people... lots of people. It was an experience, it felt so revitalizing, Kevin didn't want to go back down ever again. "Fuck, are we at the top?" "Oh, you're alive." Kevin blurted out, turning to look at Hyunjae. There was a thin layer of sweat on Hyunjae's skin, eyes still shut. Kevin could laugh, but he was more concerned at that point. "Hey, why did you challenge me to do this if you're scared?" "I didn't challenge you! I just..." the wheel moved a bit and Hyunjae cursed loudly, making Kevin giggle. "I was just trying to talk to you." Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Do you not know how to talk to me without sounding like an asshole?" Their hands were still clasped together, and it was getting sweaty, but neither of them were letting go. It was a nice night, the cool breeze blowing just right and the moon was full and bright and they were surrounded by a cacophony of lights. "Do you like me?" Hyunjae's eyes fluttered open, looking at Kevin directly. "Um," Hyunjae replied intelligently. Kevin waited patiently for him to finish formulating his sentence, but then the horn sounded and the wheel began to turn. "Hey, Hyunjae." Kevin tapped his arm using his other, free hand. "Just relax. This thing is safe, we're locked in securely and no one's died from this ferris wheel yet--" "Yet. Big emphasis." "Just open your eyes." Kevin whispered, squeezing their laced hands together. He smiled at Hyunjae, feeling something else other than the usual urge to smack him out of a three storey window, and even laid his head on Hyunjae's shoulder. "And enjoy." Hyunjae surprisingly let him. The wheel started to move faster, rising slowly then dropping fast, and while Kevin felt like his soul was always left at the very top, he was enjoying himself, screaming along to the adrenaline brought about by falling. The wind slapping his face was a definite plus. The wheel suddenly stopped when they were at the very top again. Kevin, panting with excitement, looked below to find out what stopped his fun. He saw the two operators fighting over the fuel pump, and Kevin realized he might be stuck up there for quite a bit. "Kevin." Hyunjae was really handsome, Kevin had to admit. Even when he was pale and shaky, Hyunjae still demanded the attention of anything within visual range. It was one of the reasons why Kevin thought he hated Hyunjae... the guy looked too good to be true. "I think they have a problem with the, uh... gas." Kevin explained, realizing they were still holding hands. He stared at their locked digits. "Hyunjae, you haven't answered my question." "If I jump out of the carriage will I survive with minor injuries?" "I mean, that depends on what lands first, but I don't highly recommend it." Kevin squeezed their hands together, trying to make Hyunjae realize that they were still holding onto each other. "So, are you planning on just digressing and never answering my question?" Hyunjae remained quiet. Kevin rocked their carriage. "Wait, no! Don't do that!" Hyunjae whined, gripping the bar in front of them. He had let to let go of Kevin's hand to do so, and maybe it made Kevin regret his actions a little bit. "What if we fall over and die?" Kevin stared at him right in the eye and rocked the carriage even wilder. "Kevin -fucking- Moon!" Hyunjae screamed, panicking wildly. Kevin laughed at the reaction, continuing his movements. Until Hyunjae somehow found the strength to grab both of Kevin's wrists and pin them on his lap, immobilizing Kevin and effectively stopping the carriage's rocking. Kevin shakily let out a breath when he realized how close they were. He could make out the tiny moles on Hyunjae's cheek, could count each individual eyelash on his lids. Kevin gulped, suddenly feeling very hot. It happened before any of them could process, so no one actually remembered who leaned in first, but it didn't matter. What mattered was Hyunjae gently cupping Kevin's cheek with a cold hand as the younger angled his head. Hyunjae's lips were plush and soft against Kevin as he pushed Kevin slightly, leaning some of his weight on him and making the carriage tilt. Hyunjae squeaked loudly when it moved, and Kevin had a brief moment to laugh at him before Hyunjae was chasing his lips again. "Hyunjae, wait." Kevin put a hand on Hyunjae's chest. "Dude, what the fuck?" "Does my breath stink?" "No?" "Okay, good." Hyunjae kissed him again, nipping at his bottom lip and maybe Kevin was feeling very lightheaded at that point. He lightly curled his fist and bunched up a bit of Hyunjae's shirt fabric in his hands, making the older boy pull away for a bit. "What's wrong?" Kevin raised an eyebrow. "We hate each other?" "I never said I hated you." "You dumped my sketchbook in the mud." "You spray painted my bike orange." "You threw an egg at me in freshman year." "You threw an egg at my fucking friend!" "It was warzone! And Juyeon's my friend too!" Kevin retorted. "I'm allowed to throw eggs at Juyeon since he'd barely feel it anyway. Dude's got a head thicker than the Earth's mantle." Hyunjae was silent for a moment, contemplating his entire college life. Kevin felt sorry for him and was about to reassure the elder that all would be forgiven in due time (Kevin was still understandably bitter his sketchbook was ruined), when the ride began to move again. "Hey, just trust me," Kevin covered one of Hyunjae's hands on the handlebars. "You'll be fine. If you survive the ride, I'll go out with you." "...wait, really?" "Yeah." "Okay." Hyunjae shakilly nodded. "How much longer is this?" Kevin grinned. "A bit more." The rest of the ride, Kevin genuinely enjoyed. He felt like it was over too soon, but thought that maybe for Hyunjae, it was an eternity. He helped the other boy off, quickly finding an unoccupied bench for him to recuperate. Hyunjae was pale, but as soon as they touched the ground, he was starting to regain color again. "So... you're scared of heights?" Kevin asked. "No. I'm just scared of falling." "That sounded like that meant more than just that." Hyunjae grinned weakly at him. "I only meant it literally. Metaphorically, I think I am falling for you, but I'm not scared of that." "You think you're so smooth, huh?" Kevin tried to fight his blush down. "Lee Jaehyun, you are one hell of a guy." "Maybe, but can I be your hell of a guy?" "Dude, that didn't make sense." "Yes, it did!" Hyunjae argued, shaking himself as he stood up. He was already acting like he wasn't scared half to death just minutes before, which greatly amused Kevin. He would always treasure the scaredy cat side of Hyunjae. Kevin smiled. "Are you sure this isn't just a big ruse to make out with me during the ride?" "Okay, firstly," Hyunjae at least had the decency to blush. "I did not plan on getting on the damned ride in the first place. Secondly and more importantly, I don't have enough braincells left to argue with you so let's get out of here and eat dinner. How does that sound for a first date?" "Sounds amazing." Kevin laughed at that, holding out a hand for Hyunjae to hold. As their fingers laced together, Kevin noted that they fit just right.